While handkerchiefs have been carried by people for centuries for their absorbent properties, since the 1920s they have been donned for pure sake of fashion. Most commonly worn in the breast pocket of a man's suit or tuxedo jacket, the handkerchief is generally folded into a form commonly known as a “pocket square”, with a portion thereof visibly protruding above the top edge of the pocket. This visible portion provides a decorative feature that enhances the appearance of the jacket.
The appearance of the handkerchief as it protrudes from the pocket is extremely important. In essence, the presence of the handkerchief is an added touch that conveys a sense of being “perfectly put together”, and thus the handkerchief itself must be perfectly folded to convey that.
A variety of techniques have developed for folding the handkerchief in a manner that has the portion that protrudes from the pocket appear as clean and geometric as the suit jacket itself. Among these, the most common is the “single point” style, in which an isosceles triangle of protruding handkerchief is visually created, with its base at the top edge of the pocket, and the apex pointing straight up. Other similar styles involve overlapping swaths of fabric that culminate in a single upwardly extending point that is generally centered on the pocket.
While some might find the process of folding a handkerchief to be simple and routine, others find it to be as complicated and unfamiliar as tying a bow tie. Just knowing the procedure for folding the handkerchief is not sufficient, since pockets have different depths, and so there is the added difficulty of folding the handkerchief so that it protrudes just the right amount from its intended pocket. Even when folded precisely, however, they cannot be counted on to remain stationary within the pocket. Considering the level of visual perfection that is expected from the pocket square, the solution for many is to avoid it altogether.
Some have attempted to provide devices which hold a pocket square in place, generally using pins or the like. Such items generally pierce and thus permanently damage the handkerchief and/or suit, and are ineffective in maintaining the required appearance for the duration that the suit jacket is worn.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present disclosure as disclosed hereafter.
In the present disclosure, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed and it is contemplated that the claims may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.